Page 31 of Clever Deceit

“I’m just...really fucking proud of you,” I told her, reaching out to give her knee a squeeze as we drew up outside the house.

“What for?” she replied. She still didn’t really get it.

“Because you’re standing up to this guy,” I replied, turning to face her as I shut off the engine. “You went through so much at his hands, and he’s still trying to scare you off, but you’re not letting it get to you. You’re just...pushing through it. You’re moving forward. And you’re going to help so many other women in the long-term, so many women who he would have gone on to target if he didn’t have someone like you getting in his way.”

She drooped her head down to her chest.

“I should have done it sooner,” she muttered. “There shouldn’t have been anyone after me. I should have brought an end to it right then and there—”

“Hey,” I cut her off, catching her chin in my hand and tilting it around to face me. “You can’t think like that. Okay? You did what you had to do to survive. Look at the way he’s acted since you got back—you got out because you had to. I don’t even want to think about how bad things would have gotten if you’d stayed.”

She nodded and tilted her face into my hand.

“You’re right,” she whispered. “I...I just feel so guilty about it.”

“You don’t have to,” I promised her. “You’re so strong, Lily. And so damn brave. I spent years in the army, and I’m not sure I ever met someone with your nerve before.”

She smiled up at me. “Really?”

I leaned forward to kiss her. “Really.”

She leaned her head against mine for a moment, and I felt her let out a breath. I knew she was carrying so much with her after everything she had been through, so much pain and doubt—so many questions about whether she had done the right thing, whether it had been acceptable for her to walk away from her life to escape the man who had been tormenting her.

But I would do whatever it took to get her to see that she was strong, and brave, and powerful. And that Tony didn’t have a clue what he was up against.

I led her into the house, knowing this was going to be a tough night for her. I was glad, at least, that I could be here with her, though it wasn’t as though I had much of a choice, after what had happened to my place.

The house felt empty without Diane in it, though Silver sprang up to rush over and say hello. Lily patted her head, and I smiled at the sight of them together. I knew she loved that dog more than anything in the world, and I was glad nothing had happened to her on the night of the fire. She would never have been able to forgive herself. And Tony might have been a monster, but would he really come after an innocent animal like that? Despite what I knew about him, it was hard to believe.

I sank down into a chair, and Lily turned to smile at me. There was a peace in her face that I hadn’t seen in a long time, at least not since the night of the fire. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure it stayed there. No matter what, she deserved to feel this safe and happy all the time.

And with a few more allies on our side, that might be easier than I had thought. I slipped my hand down the side of the armchair and pulled out the card Lily had stashed there before. I looked down at the name and number, studying it, trying to work out if this was someone else we could trust.

Like she said, they would show their hand eventually. And we would know for sure which way this thing was going to go.

CHAPTER 15

LILY

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BY THE TIME WE GOT home, I felt like I was both flying and drowning at the same time. There were actually people out there that believed me, and that made me feel more hopeful than I had in a long time. A cop who had personal experience with what we knew Tony was doing, and the visit from the fire chief Not just one but two people in high-up positions.

People who believed me.

People who wanted to help me.

If Frank was actually going to go through with this, it would also mean that there would be a written record of what had happened to me. A real-life police report. Five years late and not even filed with the cops in this town, but still. If he could get his friend to file it in another town so that there was at least proof that I'd spoken out and that something had happened...

That was something, right?

And maybe I had Rocco on my side, too. I didn’t know for sure if I could trust him yet, but it seemed way more likely now that I knew there were others out there who wanted to help. I still wasn’t going to go spilling everything to him, but I glanced over at the card sitting on the armchair next to Warren. It was something, at least.

I had no idea what the legalities were there. If the police department that took the statement didn't have jurisdiction over the town where it happened, would it even matter? I mean, what if I'd had to get out of town and then made the statement somewhere else? Making a statement was making a statement, right? I'd just told someone who was in a safer place. And if the statement was anything to go by, surely whoever looked at it would understand why I wouldn't have made it in a town where Tony McCarthy—and his father—had direct access to me.

If that held true, and if we could find other girls like Frank's niece who had personal experience with Tony himself, and if Richard could find the girl who'd taken out that restraining order on Tony six years ago, surely that would be enough.

If it was just me saying something about what Tony had done, that was one thing. But if there were two of us, it was more believable. If there were more than two, and one of them actually had a restraining order, that would be a bigger story than anyone could ignore.